Chefs and Head Cooks in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,059
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$9,941
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,004
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$52,000
Kept after tax
$42,059
Worth in national money
$46,004
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for chefs and head cooks is on the low side in Idaho. The middle earner gets $52,000. That is 46 of 51 states, and about 16.76% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 476 occupations Idaho reports figures for, this is number 260.
- Idaho is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $52,000 the take-home is $42,059; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,004 would nationally. The average comes to $57,390, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For chefs and head cooks, Idaho sits in the lower band at $52,000, ranking 46 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 16.76%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Idaho's occupational distribution, chefs and head cooks sits at 260 of 476 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for chefs and head cooks in Idaho, on $52,000, is $42,059 — equivalent to $46,004 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $57,390 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Chefs and Head Cooks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,240 |
| This salary | $52,000 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Idaho | $42,059 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,962 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$764 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $49,632 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$924 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of chefs and head cooks in Idaho earn under $52,000 and half over. The published range runs $33,590 at the tenth percentile to $83,240 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $42,059 take-home in Idaho comes from $52,000. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 260 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,004 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 260.
- Figures are distribution medians for chefs and head cooks in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,590 to $83,240; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $42,059, from $52,000, assumes a single Idaho filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 260 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,004, worked from $52,000, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Idaho address, on work sitting at 260 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $57,390 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $33,590 at the bottom tenth to $83,240 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $46,004.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $42,059.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Idaho is $57,390. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($33,590) and the ninetieth ($83,240) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $46,004 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $42,059 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.